Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
FORBIDDEN CITY
|HISTORIC SITE
TIĀN'ĀNMÉN SQUARE
|SQUARE
|MUSEUM
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CHINA
( Zhōngguó Guójì Bówùguǎn; en.chnmuseum.cn; Guangchangdongce Lu, Tiān'ānmén Sq, audio guide ¥30, cafe coffee
from ¥20, pastries & sandwiches ¥10-20; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun; Tian'anmen East)
After years of renova-
tion, China's premier museum, housed in the immense 1950s building on the eastern side
of Tiān'ānmén Sq, finally reopened in 2011. It was a work in progress at the time of re-
search, with some halls still closed, but much of what was open was well worth visiting.
The
Ancient China
exhibition on the basement floor is outstanding. It contains dozens and
dozens of stunning pieces, from prehistoric China through to the Qing Dynasty, all dis-
played beautifully in modern, spacious, low-lit exhibition halls. Look out for the
2000-year-old jade burial suit, made for the clearly well-endowed Western Han Dynasty
king Liu Xiu, and the life-sized bronze acupuncture statue, dating from the 15th century.
You could easily spend a couple of hours in this exhibition alone.
Also worth a look is the
Ancient Chinese Money
exhibition on the top floor. The
Bronze Art
and
Buddhist Sculpture
galleries, one floor below, are also impressive.
Many of the other halls housed temporary art galleries when we last visited, which were
eye-catching, but lacked English captions. The museum, which is vast and energy sapping,
also has a pleasant ground-floor
cafe
. Note, you must bring your passport along to gain
museum entry.
|MAUSOLEUM
CHAIRMAN MAO MEMORIAL HALL
( Máo Zhǔxí Jìniàntáng; Tiān'ānmén Sq; bag storage ¥2-10, camera storage ¥2-5; 8am-noon Tue-Sun; Ti-
an'anmen West, Tian'anmen East or Qianmen)
Mao Zedong died in September 1976 and his memorial
hall was constructed on the southern side of Tiān'ānmén Sq soon afterwards. This squat,
Soviet-inspired mausoleum lies on Běijīng's north-south axis of symmetry on the footprint
of Zhōnghuá Gate (Zhōnghuá Mén), a vast and ancient portal flattened during the commun-
ist development of Tiān'ānmén Sq.
